Refrigerator



Aug. 20, 1929*. u v. L. FoRMENTos 1,725,627

' REFRIGERATOR Filed May 22. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l` Gftornegs.

Vice Formmlos Aug. 20, 1929. v. L.. FoRMENTos REFRIGERATOR Filed May' 22. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E! AY."

Patented ug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES VINCENTE L. FOBMNTOS, OF MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

REFRIGERATOR.

Application filed May 22, 1928.

Serial No. 279,830.

My invention relates to improvements in the refrigerator, which may be provided with refrigerators, and comprises a refrigerator so constructed as to provide suitable compartments for the reception of ice, food and bottled goods. A special feature of my present invention is to provide a curved track for bottles containing water, Wine or soft drinks, milk or the like, so arranged that the bottles next to be used are always at the bottom, or the coolest part of the refrigerator; and in which the chain of bottles is automatically controlled by closing a door covering the lower part of the bottle track, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The invention is especially intended to provide an arrangement to expedite and facilitate the removal of the two lower bottles at each side of the chain, and also includes other novel features which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

My present invention is especially intended to provide improvements on the apparatus shown in my Patent #972,074, granted October 4, 1910, and entitled Improvements in refrigerators.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like parts are indicated by similar reference symbols throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of the refrigerator, showing the main door closed, and the bottom door for use in removing the bottle open.

Figure 2 shows a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and looking down.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail front view showing the device for holding the neXt to the last two bottles from the bottom in place until released automatically by the closing of the door.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 3 as seen from the right of said figure with the control rod'in the rear or extended position, or the position for holding the next to the last two bottles from descending further.

Figure 5 shows a section along the line 54-5 of Figure 4, and looking iny the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 shows a section along the line 6--6 of Figure 3, but shows the control rod pushed in against the action of the return spring, and

Figure 7 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 4.

A represents the chest or the main body of suitable insulation, such as B, see Figure 2, or the air alone may be used as insulating material. Mounted in the center of this chest A is a container C or ice-box proper, having its bottom inclined or preferably curved as at C and provided at its bottom with a drain pipe C2, see Figure 1.

Within this ice-box C are the U-.shaped curved rods D and D, fully described in my patent aforesaid, which are spaced from the wall of the container C and serve to provide a downwardly and inwardly inclined channel G for the bottles E. Mounted in the center of the ice-box are suitable shelves F and F on which ice may be placed, and also the other articles to be cooled.

A Between thebottles, I provide separators H, which are preferably of wood in the form of paddles provided with handles L, so that a separator may be conveniently removed when the adjoining bottle is removed, as will be hereinafter described.

The top of the refrigerator may be closed in the usual way, as by the cover or cap I, which may be provided with a suitable lock J, if desired.

Near the bottom of the front of theerefrigerator, I provide a swinging door K hinged as at Ic', which door when closed Vmasks ythe lower portion of the channel Gr, as shown in Figure 1.

The apparatus hitherto described is shown substantially in my earlier patent aforesaid, but the present invention relates to the means controlled by the opening and closing of the door K.

When the door is opened, the two lower bottles only can be removed from the channel G and yet when the door is closed, the chain of bottles on one or both sidesis fed downward so that there will be one or two fresh bottles fed by gravity downward to 4supply the' place of the bottle or bottles that This block is attached or it may It will be seen that there is a clearance beneath this block M to permit the drip water drip from the ice-box into the drain pipe Mounted on the top of this block M .is a bracket N, in which the rock shaft O is journalled. This rock shaft carries the arms I) and P, projecting downward and clamped in place on the rock shaft O by means of the set screws p.

These arms P and P are slottedV as at p0 to engage the pins gu carried by the side bars g and g of the yoke Q, which yoke is slotted as at g2 to engage the pins m? carried by the block M, and thus this yoke is in sliding engagement with said block.

The yoke is normally pressed outward by a coil spring R, one end of which is guided by the pin m3, and the other end of which engages the nut s carried by the push rod S, which push rod is fastened by means of the nuts s and s to the cross piece g3 of the yoke Q; This push rod is provided with the rounded head s2 to be engaged by the door K when the latter is swung to the closed position, but this push rod will be pushed out automatically by the spring R, when the door K is swung open.

The shaft 0 carries two stop pieces T and T", having diverging arms t and t, the said stop pieces being secured fast to the rock y shaft O by the set screws t2.

These arms t and t should be so adjusted that they will engage the sides of the two bottles next to the ones adjacent to the block `M when the push rod S is in the extended position, which will occur when the door is opened; and thus when the door is open only the two lower bottles can be removed from the chain without pushing in on the pushrod S. Should it be desired to withdraw more than two bottles, this push rod may be forced inward by hand and released, and two more bottles will move downward; or the sainev effect may be accomplished by swinging the door closed and opening it again, butin practice, it will ordinarily not be necessary to remove more than two bottles at a time.

Obviously, a single bottle only may be removed when the door is opened, and when the door is closed, the chain of bottles on that side of the refrigerator will move down one step, leaving the chain of bottles in theh other sideof the refrigerator in the original position.

In practice, I prefer to have a channel way for the bottles in the form of a U with two legs, so that the bottles may be supplied from both sides of the refrigerator, but the channel way for the bottles may be one side only of the refrigerator, if preferred, and the automatic control by the door may be operated from that side only as hereinbefore described.

be held in the ice-box in any con- By the foregoing arrangementnot only is venient way.

it feasible to remove one or two bottles at a time from the bottom of the refrigerator where the temperature is ordinarily the lowest, insteadl ofremoving'the bottle from the top of the column where the temperature would be higher; but it is also feasible to remove a single bottle, while the weight of the column of bottles above is supported by frictional engagement by the bottom wall of the icefbox and the locking arm t or t. Thus the cold' bottles and the adjacent separators may be quickly and easily withdrawn, and the space that they occupied left vacant until the push rod S is pushed in again either by hand or the closing of the door.

When this is done the chain of bottles above will roll down the incline and will be arrested by the block M. rIhe short travel of the column of 'bottles after the removal of a single bottle will not be sufficient to cause the shock of stoppage of the column to break any of the bottles, and the wooden block M will ordinarily serve as a safe buffer; but if desired strips of rubber or other soft material may be applied to the faces of the block M to lessen the shock of the column of bottles when they are allowed to descend after being released by the push rod S.

The bottles may be placed in position through the top of the ice-box, or where the front ofthe box consists of a hinged door the bottles may be placed in position from the front.

Of course, it will be understood that the interior of the boX may be suitably lined with any proper material, such as Zinc, porcelain, or other well-known linings. Y

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that by the arrangement illustrated there isprovided not only a coolingpchamber for articles of food, but alsoa separate ,chamber for receiving a number of bottles, out of contact with the food or ice, and delivering the bottles alternately at t-he bottomof the iceboX, where the temperature is lowest.

While I have shown one embodiment of the invention in its preferred form, it will beA obviousthat various changes might be made 1n the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, which could be used without departing from the spirity of my invention,

l. A refrigerator comprising a chest, anV

insulated cooling chamber provided in said chest and having a U-shaped guide way for bottles provided in the outer and lowerpoi tions ofsaid chamber, with a partition block located in the bottom of said chamber, and

separating said guide way into two downwardly directed and inwardly inclined channels for the bottles, a swinging door masking the lower` portion of said U-shaped channel, a rock shaft, journalled on said block, arms carried by said rock shaft, adapted to engage the bottles seriatim as they descend, a spring impressed push rod, adapted to be engaged by the door in closing, and means controlled by the movement of said push rod for rocking said shaft.

2. A refrigerator comprising a chest, an insulated cooling chamber provided in said chest and having a U-shaped guide way for bottles provided in the outer and lower portions of said chamber, with a partition block located in the bott-om of said chamber, and separating said guide way into two downwardly directed and inwardly inclined channels for the bot-tles, a swinging door masking the lower portion of said U-shaped channel, a rock shaft journalled on said block, arms carried by said rock shaft and adapted to engage the bottles seriatim as they descend, a spring impressed push rod, adapted to be engaged by the door in closing, and means controlled by the movement of said push rod for rocking said shaft.

3. A refrigerator comprising a chest, an insulated cooling chamber provided in said chest and having a downwardly disposed 30 guide way for bottles provided in the outer and lower portion of said chamber, a swinging door masking the lower portion of said guide way, a rock shaft journalled transversely of said guide way, an arm carried by 35 tions of said chamber, a rock shaft journalled 45 transversely of said guide way, an. arm carried by said rock shaft, adapted to engage the bot-tles seriatim as they descend, a door for the guide way, a spring impressed push rod, adapted to be engaged by the door in closing, and means controlled by the movement of said push rod for roc-king said shaft.

VICENTE L. FORMENTOS. 

